


Broken Hearts are like Broken Bones

by Ot3srock



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Broken Bones, Bullying, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nightmares, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 00:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20267290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ot3srock/pseuds/Ot3srock
Summary: Billy breaks his arm, but the Vasquez family is there to help. When he lets them know, that is.





	Broken Hearts are like Broken Bones

**Author's Note:**

> TW for abuse, bullying, slight language, and nightmares.

Billy Batson was used to nightmares. He was used to bruises and long cuts after the nightmares. What he wasn’t used to was love. Care after a nightmare. Someone patching up his various wounds. To be honest, love scared him. He’d never had someone care about him like Rosa and Victor did. It was weird. Very, very weird.

He was having another nightmare about one of his last foster families. It had started as a dream about sharing his powers with his siblings and the look on Freddy’s face when he found out he could fly. Then it had slowly switched to the foster family he’d been with two placements ago. They hurt him and hit him when he had nightmares and no one had noticed until his foster father had pushed him down the stairs and broken his right arm. Billy had run and tried to find his mother, only to be caught by the police and brought back to his case worker. She scolded him for running away, but didn’t notice the pain he was in as she passed him off to the next family. They didn’t fix his arm and it healed poorly again. Now, he was having a nightmare about the abuse he’d been through and he was tossing and turning in the top bunk until he had accidentally thrown himself off of the bed and right onto the floor with a loud ** _CRACK!_ **

“NO!” Billy yelled out, sitting up from the floor. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. His right arm felt numb but at the same time, shots of pain ripped through it, making him cry out and cradle his elbow in his left hand. Hot tears streaked down his face as he rocked back and forth cradling his arm to his chest. He knew it was broken, but he couldn’t risk waking anyone up. He looked over at Freddy, who was asleep in his bunk, snoring softly. Billy sighed, shaking his head. He would swear that Freddy could sleep through anything. As he was looking fondly at the boy, he could hear footsteps running up the stairs. Billy panicked and remembered why he was sitting on the ground in the first place. He frantically wiped the excess tears from his face and tried to make it look like he wasn’t crying.

“Billy, Freddy, are you alright?” he heard Victor ask as he burst through the door, Rosa right behind him.

“Victor, shh,” Rosa scolded, pointing at Freddy’s bed. The boy groaned and rolled over onto his back before settling down again. Victor muttered an apology before looking down at Billy, who was still sat on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Victor asked, kneeling down. Billy shrugged and, feeling pain tear through his arm again, he grimaced and bit the inside of his lip. Rosa also knelt in front of her foster son and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Billy bit his lip harder, tasting a little blood.

“We’re not mad, but we would like to know what happened,” she offered. “We heard a crash. Are you hurt?” Billy shook his head.

“No. I just, uh. I dropped my phone. I was looking for it,” Billy lied, hoping they wouldn’t see his phone on the top bunk. Victor and Rosa exchanged a look.

“Well, don’t stay up too late looking for it. It _ is _a school night,” Rosa instructed. Billy just nodded silently.

“Hey. If you don’t find it soon, have Freddy help you,” Victor suggested with a smile. Billy tried to smile, but it came out more like a pained grimace.

“Y-yeah. I’ll definitely do that,” Billy agreed, dropping his smile.

“Why are you sweating so much, sweetie?” Rosa asked, wiping a hand across his cheek. Billy was glad to have the weight off his shoulder.

“It’s really hot under the covers, so…” he trailed off, avoiding the gaze of his foster parents by staring at a spot on the floor.

“Okay.” Rosa sounded like she didn’t believe him, but didn’t mention the fact that he was in only his underwear and a loose t-shirt. “Don’t stay up too late, alright?” she reminded.

“Okay.”

“Night, bud.”

“Good night.” With that, Victor and Rosa left, closing the door quietly behind them. Billy let out a sigh of relief and climbed back up into his bunk quietly, so as not to disturb Freddy. Though, if he was being honest, Billy thought he could bring an entire marching band into the room and Freddy wouldn’t even wake up. Gingerly, Billy lay back down, avoiding sleeping on his right side.

***

“Freddy! Billy! Wake up! You’re gonna be late!” Billy groaned and rolled over, hissing in pain when his right arm pressed to the bed. He groaned again when he realized why his arm hurt so much. He carefully rolled out of bed, making his way down the ladder slowly. When he was on the ground, Billy gingerly pulled off his pajama shirt and replaced it with a dark grey sweater. Using only one hand, Billy pulled on his jeans, socks, and shoes, sitting down in the desk chair to balance himself. Once he was fully dressed, he exited his room and headed for the bathroom. His timing was perfect; as soon as he arrived, Freddy was walking out, still clad in Batman pajamas but with his teeth brushed, face washed, and hair combed.

“You’d better hurry up. Victor will be pissed if he has to drive us to school again,” Freddy informed as he passed.

“Yeah,” Billy grumbled.

“Dude, you look like the walking dead,” Freddy noted, giving Billy’s arm a friendly slap. Billy cried out and clutched his arm, dropping to his knees. Freddy’s face immediately filled with guilt and he knelt as best as he could next to his best friend.

“Hey, you alright?” he asked gently. “Did I hurt you?” Billy knew that Freddy knew what it was like to be in pain, but if he told Freddy what had happened to his arm, then he might tell Victor and Rosa and they’d kick him out for lying to them. He was just starting to get used to this place. In fact, he really liked it.

“I’m fine,” Billy grunted, trying to mask his pain. “I just slept wrong and the muscles are kind of sore is all.” He stood up, smiling to show Freddy that he was okay. Freddy looked at him skeptically, but decided to brush it off and just shrugged.

“Okay, man. Don’t take too long in there, Mary wants to get a good seat on the bus,” Freddy told him. Billy nodded and headed into the bathroom. He went through his morning routine slower than usual due to the lack of mobility in his dominant arm. As he was brushing his teeth, a knock was heard on the door. He jumped nearly three feet in the air and dropped his toothbrush in the sink. It clattered against the porcelain and Billy leaned gently against the counter, trying to catch his breath.

“Billy! Are you in there?” he heard Rosa ask from the other side of the door.

“Y-yeah!” Billy called back, trying to mask his heavy breathing. “I’ll be out in a minute!”

“Okay, sweetheart. Just don’t be too long, alright? The bus will be here in a little while.”

“Okay! Thanks!” As soon as his breathing was normal, Billy picked up his toothbrush and continued to brush his teeth, trying to go faster now. When he was finished, he quickly headed downstairs, where the entire family appeared to be waiting for him.

“Billy, what took you so long! I need to get a good seat on the bus!” Mary scolded.

“Sorry, Mar,” Billy expressed, slumping onto a stool. “I’m just not feeling quite myself today.” Mary sighed and went back to her history book. Rosa came over with a plate of toast and eggs, setting the plate down before feeling Billy’s forehead with the back of her hand.

“Freddy told us what happened this morning,” she said. “You’re not running a fever, but you can stay home if you’d like.”

“No, I’m alright.” Billy kept his voice steady, but on the inside, he was freaking out. If he stayed home, then Rosa would stay home and then she’d miss another day of work because of him and then she’d get fired and they’d be mad at him and kick him out like all the others and he was just starting to get used to the idea of actually fitting in to this mismatched family.

“Are you sure? It’s really no problem if you take a day off, bud,” Victor told him. Billy nodded.

“Yeah. I have a test to take today, so…” he trailed off.

“Alright, but if you need us, you know you can just call,” Rosa reminded. Billy just nodded again and focused on finishing his breakfast. When he did finish, Rosa took his plate and gently kissed the top of his head.

“Alright. The bus will arrive in five minutes, so you’d better go,” Victor informed the kids. They all nodded, grabbing their backpacks and lunches and leaving with goodbye hugs and/or kisses to Victor and Rosa. Billy pulled his backpack over his left shoulder and gently hugged his foster parents.

“Billy, honey, why are you wearing a sweater?” Rosa asked, looking him up and down. “It’s nearly 70 degrees outside.”

“Yeah. I’m just cold,” Billy lied, hoping they couldn’t see the drops of sweat beading on his brow.

“Okay. Are you sure you don’t want to change?”

“No time. The bus is coming.” With that, he rushed out the door, hurrying to catch up with Freddy and the others. Freddy raised an eyebrow when he arrived.

“Seriously, dude. You could get heat stroke wearing that in this weather,” he told Billy. Billy just shrugged halfheartedly.

“I get really cold.”

“Dude, you literally sleep in just your boxers and a t-shirt under a single, thin sheet,” Freddy noted as the siblings climbed onto the bus.

“Yeah, whatever,” Billy said dismissively. They all found seats, Billy and Freddy in the very back of the bus, away from all the kids who bullied them.

“Are we going on patrol after school?” Freddy asked hopefully. Billy wanted to say no, that he had homework, which was a blatant lie, but a combination of the look in Freddy’s eyes and the knowledge that bruises and pain went away in their Shazam forms was enough for Billy’s resolve to shatter.

“Of course, man,” he found himself saying, shooting a smile to his roommate. Freddy smiled widely and did a little celebratory dance.

“Yes!” Some kids turned to look at the pair and Billy gave an awkward wave before pushing down Freddy’s hand to get him to stop. Freddy did, but didn’t look even slightly embarrassed. As soon as they arrived at school, Billy and Freddy waited for everyone else to vacate the bus before leaving themselves, Freddy limping as quickly as he could to get to class.

***

“Hey, losers!” Brett Bryer called to them from across the cafeteria. Billy and Freddy groaned and kept walking, trying to ignore their main bullies long enough to get to and through their last classes of the day.

“Jeez, can’t we get one day where we’re not bullied by these idiots?” Freddy grumbled. He stumbled forward and fell, having been shoved from behind by Burke. “Hey!”

“Watch your mouth, freak! You don’t have your superhero buddies to protect you this time,” Burke threatened, standing over Freddy as Brett kicked away the boy’s crutch.

“Can’t you jerks pick on someone else for once?” Freddy spat as he examined his scraped knee.

“Nah. You’re the easiest target, cripple,” Burke replied, kicking Freddy’s bad leg. Freddy hissed in pain and Billy shoved Burke away from Freddy as he was winding up to kick the other again. Burke lost his balance and fell back on his butt, glaring up at Billy.

“He said leave us alone, assholes,” Billy growled threateningly. Burke scrambled to his feet.

“Alright, freak-boy. You asked for it,” Burke growled back. He tried to punch Billy, but the boy dodged it smoothly, sliding out of the way.

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that,” Billy taunted with a smirk. He had forgotten about Brett, who was waiting for the right moment to strike. He grabbed Billy’s arms and held them behind his back, giving Burke a perfect target. Billy cried out at his arm being wrenched behind him and used all his willpower to keep the tears from his eyes.

“Alright, smartass. You’re in for a real beating now,” Brett hissed in Billy’s ear. Burke then punched him in the stomach, making Billy double as much as he could and groan. Burke kicked him in the shin, making Billy drop to the floor, Brett still holding him. Burke punched him in the face and kicked his stomach repeatedly, but nothing could compare to the pain shooting through Billy’s arm. Blood dripped onto Billy’s shirt, staining the dark gray fabric.

“Hey, let him go, you guys!” Freddy demanded as he stood up, recognizing the pain on Billy’s face. Burke just slapped him, causing the boy to fall again before Burke turned to stand over Freddy again.

“What are you gonna do about it, cripple?” he taunted. Billy saw the spark in Freddy’s eyes and the word forming on his lips, nearly spilling over.

“Stop!” Billy shouted. Freddy startled and the spark in his eye was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “He can’t do anything!” Billy knew Freddy could take a beating, but he didn’t want to have to explain to Victor and Rosa that Freddy was a bloody mess because of his smart mouth. Burke turned back to Billy and Freddy took the opportunity to stand up and shove Brett as hard as he could. Brett barely moved, but glared at him.

“Just for that, Freeman, you’re gonna watch your precious brother get the shit beat out of him,” Brett barked, letting go of Billy’s arms and going to hold Freddy back. Billy fell forward, landing hard on his hands. His arms buckled under his weight and he collapsed.

“Leave him alone, jerk-offs!” Billy groaned angrily, pushing himself up again. He wouldn’t let them lay a hand on his best friend; his brother. Burke grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head up.

“I thought I told you to shut your mouth, smartass,” Burke hissed, focusing on Billy again; just what Billy wanted. Burke punched Billy in the face, causing his nose and mouth to bleed profusely. Billy coughed, spitting more blood onto his sweater. Burke dropped Billy’s hair and the boy fell forward again, landing hard on his forearms this time. Burke kneed Billy in the face and kicked him in the ribs several times. Billy swore that if his ribs weren’t broken, they were definitely bruised and very sore.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Freddy screamed fighting against the hold on his arms. Even though his vision was getting blurry, Billy could see that there were tears streaming down Freddy’s face.

“Hey! You four! Get to class!” Billy heard a teacher command. Brett let go of Freddy and rushed off, Burke close behind. Billy coughed and blood splattered onto the floor underneath him.

“That’s not a good sign,” he groaned before his vision went black.

***

When Billy woke up, he was laying on a squishy, couch-like bed. He instantly knew he was in the nurse’s office. Groaning, Billy felt the pain crash back into his body.

“Billy, you’re awake!” Freddy exclaimed. Billy groaned again and slowly sat up, leaning against the wall. Freddy was across from him, holding one ice pack to the right side of his face with another strapped to his left knee.

“How long have I been out?” Billy asked.

“About fifteen minutes. Mr. James carried you here. I tried to bring you to the nurse myself, but…” Freddy trailed off, gesturing to his left leg. Billy just nodded.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “You know, after…that.” He jerked a thumb toward the door.

“Dude, you just got your ass kicked and you’re asking _ me _ if I’m okay?” Freddy asked incredulously.

“Well, yeah,” Billy replied.

“Unbelievable.” Freddy gaped and threw up his hands, settling them in his lap when they came back down. Billy could now see that there was a large bruise going from right above his mouth to the cheekbone right under his eye.

“Mr. Batson, you’re awake,” the nurse greeted, walking into the room. “I was just filling out an incident report. I thought you might want to see it.” She pulled up a chair to his bed, handing him her report. Billy looked through it, freezing when he got to the ‘injury’ section. It listed all of the cuts and bruises he’d gotten, but words on a separate line were what caught Billy’s eye. There, in red ink, the nurse had written _ broken arm (right) not caused by this incident, as bruising on the arm is a little under a day old. Assaulters exacerbated the fracture by jostling and gripping the arm of the victim. Very apparent that the family of the victim(s) does not know of the injury to the arm. _ Billy gulped, turning to look at the nurse.

“So, you know?” he asked her.

“Mr. Batson, I am one of the only registered nurses in this district. I’ve studied these types of injuries for years. It’s not my first rodeo,” she told him.

“Right. Are you gonna tell Victor and Rosa?”

“Well, I _ am _ a mandatory reporter, but since it didn’t happen on school property, I don’t _ have _to tell them,” she replied. Her voice lowered and she leaned into his ear. “But, I would recommend you telling them yourself.”

“But, what if they…” Billy looked around before also dropping his voice. “Kick me out?”

“They won’t, Billy. They’re _ good people _ ; not like others. Trust me. Your sister, Mary was in a _ very _ similar situation to this her first year here.” Billy was about to inquire further when Victor and Rosa came rushing into the room.

“Freddy! Mi amor! Are you okay?” Rosa exclaimed, looking over her middle child.

“I’m fine,” Freddy assured. “It’s _ Billy _ you should worry about.” He pointed to Billy, who wasn’t sure if he should thank Freddy or curse his name. He didn’t have time to contemplate it, though, as Victor and Rosa were now rushing to see if _ he _ was okay.

“Billy, mi corazon, how are you feeling? Are you in pain?” Rosa fussed, hands reached out as if she wanted to touch him, but didn’t want to hurt him.

“I’m a little sore,” Billy admitted. “And I’m really sorry.” He ducked his head in shame and Rosa grabbed his cheeks gently, making him look up at her.

“Oh, Billy, mijo. You have nothing to be sorry for. We’re just glad you’re both okay,” Rosa assured, running her thumb over his uninjured cheek.

“It’s not just that.” Billy took a deep breath, stealing a glance at the nurse, who gave him an encouraging nod as she unwrapped the ice pack from around Freddy’s knee. “I, uh, I lied to you. Last night.”

“What do you mean?” Victor asked.

“I, uh. I wasn’t looking for my phone. The crash you heard was me. I had a nightmare and I fell off the bed. I broke my arm,” Billy told them, avoiding their gazes.

“Oh, mi amor. Why didn’t you tell us? We wouldn’t have been mad,” Rosa assured Billy.

“I didn’t want to be kicked out for waking you up and making you take me to the hospital. I didn’t want to inconvenience you,” Billy confessed. “I really like this family and I don’t want to leave.”

“Billy, we wouldn’t have kicked you out over a nightmare and a broken arm. We’re used to medical expenses,” Victor said. “Just look at Freddy.” He jerked a thumb in the other boy’s direction. Freddy feigned hurt, placing a hand over his heart melodramatically.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. Billy laughed, but it turned to a groan when his ribs protested in pain.

“I guess you’re right. I should have told you in the moment. I’m sorry,” he replied, giving a small, half-hearted smile.

“It’s okay, sweetie. We can get your arm fixed up soon,” Rosa promised. “I’m glad you told us.” She pulled Billy into a gentle hug, careful of his ribs, and Billy hugged her back with one arm.

“Are you Victor and Rosa Vasquez?” the principal asked, walking into the office. Rosa turned.

“Yes, we are.”

“Well, we wanted you to know that we called the Bryers’ parents and they will be punished accordingly by the school and hopefully their guardians as well.”

“Good. They’re lucky I don’t sue them for hurting my babies, _ culeros _,” Rosa practically spat. Victor gripped her hand.

“Well, you are more than welcome to take Billy and Freddy home now if you’d like,” the principal offered. “If you need anything else from us, feel free to ask.”

“Thank you so much,” Victor expressed before Rosa could say anything. “C’mon, boys, we’ve gotta get going.” Rosa helped Freddy while Victor helped Billy out to the car.

“Where are we going?” Freddy asked, when the van turned in the opposite direction of home.

“Hospital. We need to get Billy’s arm fixed up,” Victor replied.

***

When they got home, Billy’s arm was wrapped in a red cast, having been set back into place at the hospital. The first one to greet him was Darla, who gave him a strong hug. Billy groaned and Rosa came to his rescue.

“Darla, mi amor, be careful; Billy needs time to heal,” she reminded the girl. Darla let go, looking at the ground sheepishly.

“It’s alright, squirt. I’ll be fine,” Billy assured her.

“What happened to you and Freddy anyway? You left early.” Darla asked, looking up at him with innocent eyes.

“Well, Freddy and I are part of a secret organization called the Princess Aid Program, or PAP. This time, we were protecting this beautiful African princess, who reminded me a lot of you, actually. Then, all of a sudden, these assassins just burst through the ceiling and the windows and doors and tried to kill the princess. Freddy got her to safety while I fought off the assassins,” Billy told her, kneeling to her height. “If you think I look bad, you should see _ them _.”

“Is the princess okay?”

“Oh, yeah. She got back to her country of Zimbabwe just in time for her coronation as queen. She promised she’d send a letter soon.”

“Woah. So, will you and Freddy have another assignment soon?” Darla asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.

“Of course. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but we both got a super permanent one. That’s why we’re here. Our mission is to protect a princess who lives at this address. She’s the sweetest little girl and she gives the best hugs in the world. She’s also so humble and doesn’t even know she’s a princess. Her name is Darla Dudley. Do you know where I can find her?” Billy asked, lowering his voice to a stage whisper.

“I’m Darla Dudley!” Darla exclaimed.

“Well, then. Your Highness.” Billy bowed as best as he could. “What would you have me do?”

“We should play good sir!” Darla decided. “And then we should rest, too, because you’re injured.”

“Very gracious, Princess Darla. We shall play and then rest,” Billy declared, standing up. He extended his left hand to his little sister, who grabbed it and gently dragged Billy up the stairs to her room.

“Be careful, you two!” Rosa called after them. She sighed, shaking her head fondly.

**Author's Note:**

> Please kudo and comment if you liked it. I love getting feedback and I will take requests if asked!


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